The academy square thundered with excitement.
A vast arena had formed overnight—carved from floating elemental tiles, wrapped in flame-banners and humming with mystic energy. Glyph towers pulsed along the edges, linked to spirit screens displaying matchups across the continent.
> [GLOBAL ACADEMY SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
đź“ś Event: Flame Path Arena Trials
Participants: 1024 teams (Regional and Cross-Academy)
Format: Team PvP + Dungeon Challenges
Map: Rotating Elemental Zones (Flame, Ice, Shadow, Metal, Lightning, Void)
Special Feature: Hidden "Legacy Zones" – Rewards include Soul Pet Contracts, Skill Scrolls, Sovereign Relics, and Unknown Quests
Zhao Kai slammed his fists together. "Now this feels like the real thing!"
Yue loaded new arrows into her soulbound quiver. "Dungeons and drama. Feels just like the old stories."
Tian Xue looked at Jiang Han, quietly smiling. "You ready?"
He watched the arena floor shift beneath their feet.
> "I was born for this."
---
Round One: Ember Gauntlet Dungeon
The system selected a flame-forged cavern as their first zone.
Molten traps. Lava-risen golems. Puzzle gates that required split-second flame resonance to open.
Jiang took the lead, igniting Emberfang with the Beast Flame to absorb heat signatures.
Bo Ren decoded runes on the fly.
Yue scouted high terrain. Zhao Kai punched walls.
Lin Yao found a hidden side path—marked not by fire, but a strange white lotus glyph.
She paused.
> "Wait… This looks like a Long Chen rune."
They followed it down a secret path.
At the end, a treasure chest pulsed with ghostfire.
> [You have discovered a Legacy Zone – "Ember Lotus Memory Hall"]
First Clear Reward: Flame Memory Scroll (Unknown Owner)
Bonus Reward: Soul Pet Essence (Phoenix Hatchling – Unawakened)
Tian Xue gasped. "A phoenix egg!"
Bo Ren's fingers trembled as he read the scroll.
> "This… This was written by Long Chen himself."
---
PvP Challenge: Team Serpentsteel
As they left the dungeon zone, another team blocked their exit.
Team Serpentsteel—third-ranked from Eastern Stone Academy. Clad in high-tier gear, each member bore rare soul pets: Ironclaw Serpent, Frost Lynx, and a massive Vine-Drake.
Their leader, Gao Shi, smirked.
> "Nice haul. Hand it over."
Zhao Kai stepped forward. "Or what?"
> "Or we break your legs and take it anyway."
Jiang Han said nothing.
He just unrolled the Long Chen scroll.
And let it burn.
> "I don't keep legacies. I become one."
Gao Shi sneered. "Big talk. Let's see if your wyrmling can take my drake."
> [PvP Mode Initiated – Zone Lock Engaged]
---
The Fight – Flame and Fang
Tempest leapt skyward, dodging the Vine-Drake's poison mist.
Yue rained fire-tipped arrows across their flanks.
Tian Xue pulsed a healing Twilight Flame, shielding Zhao Kai as he charged through the lynx's frostwave with a roar.
Bo Ren baited the serpent with runes, then froze it with a mirror seal.
Jiang Han stepped through the battlefield like a dancer of death, Sovereign Emberfang glowing with Mourning and Instinct Flame.
> "Your strength is stolen," he told Gao Shi.
"Mine was earned."
He struck.
> Flame Art: Chainbreaker Cyclone – Wyrmling Sync Variant!
Tempest coiled around the blow—adding lightning surge to Jiang's flame edge.
The Vine-Drake collapsed in a single scream.
Team Serpentsteel surrendered.
---
Aftermath and Ranking
> [Victory Achieved – Team Dawnflame Advances]
Current Ranking: Top 256
Flame Score: 14,250 pts
Inventory Update: Phoenix Hatchling (Soul Egg) – Requires Incubation in Purified Flame
New Subquest: Restore the Hatchling | Track 1/3 of Phoenix Flame Relics
Bo Ren grinned. "We're on the scoreboard."
Yue held the egg gently. "We really have a chance at a mythical pet…"
Tian Xue whispered, "And a piece of Long Chen's past."
Jiang watched the spirit screen as their team name climbed the ranks.
> "Then we keep going."
> "To the top."